On the way to school...

As I was driving my first-grader to school this morning she started talking to me about a certain verse in Proverbs that she has been reciting alot lately. ( I cannot take any credit for this she has taught it to herself.) Somehow the conversation turned to her cousins and she wanted to know why they didn't know anything about Jesus/God/The Bible, like she does. They come from a home with parents who would definitely say they are Christian if asked, but where they don't actually talk/teach the children anything about God/Jesus/The Bible etc. (For example, the 10 yr old cousin did not know anything about Jesus' birth being the reason for Christmas, my daughter had to explain that to him.) I told her that I guess nobody had ever taught them. Her response was, "Well, maybe we should give them Bibles for Easter, that way they could learn."
Boy do I feel guilty...as their Aunt I've known that I should do this for a long time, but it takes a seven year old to point it out to me...she is growing up so fast and she is humbling me and making me proud at the same time.

Friday Five : Rivers in the Desert

Friday Five: Rivers in the Desert

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19, NRSV

As we near the end of the long journey toward Easter, a busy time for pastors and layfolk alike, I ponder the words of Isaiah and the relief and refreshment of a river in the desert.

For this Friday Five, name five practices, activities, people or _____ (feel free to fill in something I may be forgetting) that for you are rivers in the desert.




1. Family- When I am going through a rough time it always helps to spend some time just talking with my husband, playing with the kids, or on the phone with my Mom. Mom always lets me cry and whine as much as I need to and then she knows just what to say to make me feel better or put things in perspective.

2.Cooking - I love to cook (and eat) comfort food. I'm thinking that this weekend some pierogi would be great although I don't know if I'll have the time...it may have to wait a week or two.

3. Prayer - When I make/let myself take time to pray and study God's word I feel so much better about things. My favorite time is after the kids are sleeping, when the house is quiet.

4.Revgals - Reading Blogs during my free moments at work is a big help in getting through the bad days.

5.Cleaning and rearranging the furniture - When I am stuck in a rut I love to rearrange. It makes everything seem new and fresh.

Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday

My boss said, "Today we are going to clean the office" (just the two of us share the sales office)
Here is what I did...

• filed over a months worth of posted orders
• filed several months worth of posted purchase orders
• started to file over 6 months worth of customer credit card billing
• ran out of file folders
• dusted my desk, all the file cabinets and other office furniture
  
• threw away misc. junk (catalogs, junkmail etc.)
• took out garbage

Here is what he did...

• took out 1 bag of garbage from the wastebasket next to his desk.

I just LOVE it when WE clean the office...

Revgals Friday Five - Matters of Taste

Name five things you like a lot that some close relative or significant other did/does not like. This could be food, movies, hobbies, music, sports or whatever springs to mind.

1.Hot Sauce - I worked in a chicken wing restaurant when I was in college and I can make a great wing sauce. My husband actually does like it on chicken wings, but he does think its wierd that I put it on other things.

2.Blue cheese dressing - it goes with the hot sauce - nobody else in my house will eat it.

3. I grew up watching Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote with my Mom and these are still two of my favorite shows...My husband can't stand Golden Girls, he can tolerate Murder She Wrote. My almost 5 year old son will watch them with me sometimes. Even though my husband can't stand to watch Golden Girls he does support my habit...he's bought me three seasons on DVD.

4. I put peanut butter and butter on my waffles instead of syrup. Everyone always thinks this is gross.

5. Cheese...I like pretty much all kinds of cheese...everyone else in my house is strictly American...except on pizza of course.

Have a great weekend!!

Friday Five: Artsy Craftsy

1.Would you call yourself creative? Why or why not?
I guess I am creative. I like to scrapbook, crochet, and am learning to knit.

2. Share a creative or artistic pursuit you currently do that you'd like to develop further.
I'd like to get better at all of the above crafts. I also hope to someday write a mystery...I've started a few but with the pressures of daily life I haven't devoted enough time to this yet. I always tell my daughter I want to be an author when I grow up.(She wants to be an author and an illustrator)

3. Share a creative or artistic pursuit you have never done but would like to try.
I would love to learn to quilt, I keep trying to get my mother-in-law to learn so she can teach me. I also think it would be fun to learn the art of stained glass...I just happened to notice the local community college is offering a class this Spring...

4. Complete this sentence: "I am in awe of people who can _____________."
Paint, sing beautifully

5. Share about a person who has encouraged your creativity, who has "called you to your best self." (I'm pretty sure that's from the Gospel of Oprah.)
My husband has always encouraged my creativity. He always buys me great gifts to help with my crafts and he has encouraged me over and over to write...he is a musician at heart although he broke up his band last year...he wanted to spend more time with the family and less time practicing with the band and playing gigs...I wish he could have found a happy medium without quitting it altogether. Maybe its time for me to encourage his creativity.